GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN

If you’re traveling down the backroads of southern Westphalia, Michigan, you’ll come across K&K Dairy Farms.

There are barns of cows and equipment, rows upon rows of crops including corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa, and the farmhouse where Kristi and Matt Keilen are raising their three small children. They have been at the head of this operation for almost ten years.

After working with GreenStone to purchase the farm from Matt’s father in 2014, Kristi and Matt became the fourth generation to own and operate the farm. Although it’s the farm Matt grew up on, Kristi’s involvement in agriculture started a lot later in life. She doesn’t come from a strong agriculture background, but raising rabbits and chickens for 4-H as a child sparked her interest. That interest turned into a career when she decided to study animal science at Michigan State University. Now, she’s farming full-time with her husband taking care of cows and crops – and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Taking Over

Before Kristi and Matt were handed the keys to K&K Dairy Farms, they had to secure the funding they needed to take over the land. They met with GreenStone Financial Services Officer Collin Nurenberg. Since they are young and beginning farmers, Collin was able to use some of GreenStone’s CultivateGrowth resources like Farm Service Agency guarantees to offer them approval for the financing they needed.

“It is great working with Kristi,” said Collin. “She’s very organized and has her numbers in line. She knows her goals and it makes our job a lot easier. She knows what she wants and asks our opinion and it truly is a good partnership.”

Starting the farm came with some learning curves, though. Kristi studied agriculture and Matt grew up on a farm, so it wasn’t the dairy and beef operation or planting the seeds that proved tough – it was things like crunching the numbers and taking care of taxes.

“One of the things I didn’t realize is the business end of it,” said Kristi. “We’re really good farmers and know farming, but the business side of things has been difficult. I’m not an accountant, but now I do accounting. That’s something we had to learn.”

Along the way, Kristi said they started doing things a little differently than the people around them, and it helped their farm become stronger.

“We’re not afraid to think outside the box which is super important,” said Kristi. “It seems a lot of people like to be cookie cutter, but we’re not afraid to kind of do our own thing even if it’s not what our neighbor is doing.”

Making a Change

And thinking outside of the box is exactly what they did. When Kristi and Matt bought the farm, it was a large dairy operation. The barns were filled with 450 cows, being milked conventional-parlor style three times a day, and the farm employed fifteen people to keep up with that demand. After taking a look at what direction they wanted to go in, they decided to make a change and scale back the dairy operation.

Now, they house 250 dairy cattle and have two employees. They also worked with GreenStone to finance robotic milkers so they are able to focus on other areas of their farm like their beef cattle and cash crops.

Even when this vision seemed like a reach, GreenStone was there to help it become a reality.

“Collin was great about getting all of the resources together and helping us through the tough decisions and conversations and making sure we had everything thought through before we went forward with everything,” said Kristi.

“He helped every little step of the way, helping with the FSA side of things. He was really looking out for us and our operation. He knew our goal, too, which was really important.”

Supporting Neighbors in Agriculture

Now that the two have made these big changes on their farm, they don’t foresee any other big changes in the near future, but she is starting to look forward to what’s next for the farm.

“It is time to start thinking about what the next generation is going to look like and how to get my kids involved,” said Kristi.

In the meantime, she hopes to help and encourage other young people in agriculture by sharing her story.

In March, Kristi shared her expertise at GreenStone’s inaugural CultivateGrowth conference. She sat on a panel outlining some of the successes and obstacles she faced as a beginning farmer.

“She’s very active in the agriculture community which is cool to see,” said Collin. “She’s always networking and is very active in that aspect.”

Kristi wants others starting out to know that although it’s not always easy, it’s more than worth it when you see your farm succeed.

“One of the biggest things we have learned is to not give up. Keep pushing forward. There are always going to be good times and bad times but keep pushing forward,” she advised.

And Collin is sure glad that Kristi and Matt continue to do just that.

“The best part of my job is working with the people and helping them. I love seeing what their goal is and where they want to be five years down the road and helping them achieve those goals, especially the younger people. They’re the future. They are whom we are going to grow with,” Collin concluded. ■

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